John Healy, described as a man "who loved the land" and the co-founder of the North Aston Dairy in north Oxfordshire, has died suddenly at the age of 55.

Well known in the dairy farming community, he and his business partner Matt Dale delivered milk to hundreds of homes in the area.

A regular at farmers' markets in Deddington, near Banbury, and Wolvercote, North Oxford, he was well known and liked by other traders and customers.

His wife Mary said: "The remarkable thing with John was the amount of time he would give people.

"Because he dealt with the public, everyone would always say how much time he would give to their children and listen to their stories. He always had time for them."

Mr Healy was so well thought of among traders in Wolvercote, that a special remembrance event was held for him at the farmers' market on Sunday.

Never one to follow trends, Mrs Healy said her husband developed his love of organic farming long before it became fashionable to do so.

However, this love of farming - and in particular his love of cows - was the result of a life changing experience after graduating from university.

Mrs Healy said: "John was a city lad until after he graduated. He grew up in Birmingham and went to university in London.

"It was on his gap year he decided to go and work in a Kibbutz in Israel."

A Kibbutz is a commune, normally argriculturally based, where people from all over the world go to live and work.

Mrs Healy added: "It was there that he turned from a city lad into a country lad, and developed an affinity with cows - in particular dairy cows."

When he came back to the UK he started a dairy herd management course in Cheshire, inspired by what he had done in Israel.

After completing the course he started working with several dairy farmers in the area, before moving to the Elm Farm Organic Research Centreok, near Newbury, where he managed the herd.

It was his desire to set up his own dairy that would see him come to Oxford, setting up the North Aston Dairy with his partner Mr Dale.

The pair would milk their new cows twice a day, producing 240 pints a week - which they delivered directly to their customers' doors.

Mrs Healy said: "John was such a big-hearted man who is going to be missed by everyone."

He died on March 16 at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

He is survived by his wife and his two sons, Sam, 24, and Joshua, 21.